Prom Makes Me Feel Weepy

My baby is off to her Junior Prom tonight. Any moment, I will receive a call letting me know that she and her friends are on their way to Casa de Envy for the After-Prom Party. We hosted the party last year, but I don't recall feeling so weepy. Perhaps it's because the boys in the group are all graduating, and I will miss them terribly. Perhaps it's because I was looking through old photos, and came across this one from Middle Sis' wedding...


My Snow White was still a little girl when this photo was taken. Tonight, I looked through the lens of my camera and saw a beautiful young woman. I burst into tears on the way home.

In other (less weepy) news, some interesting things occurred this week:

-FYI: I will conduct a random drawing for the Pay It Forward contest the first part of next week. The two winners will be notified on their sites. Can't wait to see who it is!!!

-I saw the first lightning bug of the season.

-I flossed a crown right off of my back molar Wednesday night. My dentist was on vacation all week. It's not easy to chew on a nub. Am I being punished for flossing?

-Yesterday, I went to Mathews to meet with Chesapeake Bay Woman. We were hanging out on the beach and drinking wine ironing out the kinks for Blog Fest, and I got the full tour. I came home with a piece of driftwood, and a bag full of sea glass. Don't hate. There are some wonderful surprises in store for all attendees!

-There was a huge turtle in my driveway Thursday. I got out and tried to take his picture. Unfortunately, he hid in the honeysuckle and I couldn't get a clear shot. Perhaps he's a bit camera shy.

-Cool Breeze spent six hours putting pool furniture together today. I didn't hear him curse once. Can you say "brownie points"??

-Work has been VERY busy we are obsessed with watching the baby groundhogs and baby sandpipers that now reside in the field out front, and I have not had much time to devote to blogging. If I have not left comments on your site, it is not because I don't love you. It's simply that there are not enough hours in the day.

-I've been to 20 torture sessions yoga/pilates classes in the past four weeks. I'm taking an hour a day for myself, and I do not feel the least bit guilty. In fact, I'm feeling better than I have in months!

So. What have YOU been up to this week? I've missed you!

Pay It Forward

Last weekend I received a beautiful package of goodies from my friend Daryl (click here). The lovely notecard is handmade by another blogger, but Daryl couldn't remember if it was imom or HER mom. (Not sure of the link. Daryl, could you help me out with that one??)




This fabulous necklace was made by Daryl's friend Vera. Click here to see her site...prepare to stay a while!

And where do I even BEGIN with the nail polish and lip gloss?? BEAUTIFUL & GIRLIE! When I had dinner with Daryl last month (in NYC...jealous?), she was wearing the hot pink polish. I commented that I liked it, and SHE REMEMBERED!!! SO, now I have my very own! Can't think of a better way to welcome summer than with hot pink nails;) (And some new flip flops...) Thanks for spoiling me Daryl!

Now it's YOUR turn to get in on the gifting action! I'm going to Pay It Forward to two commenters who leave me a message saying they would like to participate. I will randomly select the winners, and each will receive a gift from me! YAY! The only catch is that YOU must Pay It Forward on YOUR blog. Easy. Peasy.

Who's in?

Girls' Weekend

What happens at Girls' Weekend, STAYS at Girls' Weekend;) Don't hate.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day holiday. There is nothing better than spending time with family and friends....and honoring those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

The Garage Enclosure - Part Two

To read Part One, click here.

Initially, the enclosure seemed to be progressing at warp speed. Now? Not so much. You'll notice that Part One was dated March 24. It was estimated that the project would take one month. GAH!

In the meantime, all of the items that once lived in the garage and attic need to go to the dump have been crammed into the shed. I have no idea where my summer clothes are hiding, OR where I stashed the sunscreen and pool towels we will need this weekend.

My cat is getting tired of all of the commotion that has disrupted our lives for the past two months. She thinks it's ridiculous that work has to come to a halt for so many inspections: electric, gas, insulation, sheetrock, bedrock and the kitchen sink. It seems that she has developed a habit of sticking out her tongue in disgust. I can't really blame her.


We have chosen the stone that will adorn our new gas fireplace. It has some fancy name, but I like to call it "Rustic"!

This will give you an idea of how much crap we shoved into the shed what the garage used to look like.

Now, it's starting to resemble a family room.

We also have a new little porch. One day if I don't die before the enclosure is finished we may even be able to use it!!

I will have a separate laundry room which means I can get all of those darn clothes out of the bedroom floor which will also house the deep freeze.

I'll post more updates as soon as the polar ice caps melt they become available.

Any wall color suggestions would be appreciated. The adjoining hallway is painted "Herbivore", which is a sagey green, and the floor will be a dark hickory hardwood. Earth tones welcome!

Teenagers

Sometimes, they bring you flowers...

...to brighten your day.

Reconnecting

Friday night, CB & I drove over an hour to listen to a band. What you have to understand is that we are REAL homebodies. It's rare that we ever venture far from home...it was long overdue. Our smiles clue you in on how much fun we had!







That's me with the lead singer, KH. He is a childhood friend. We have reconnected on Facebook, and he invited us to come out and listen to their music. They were AWESOME!

KH is a MASTER at working the room. He snugged up to Little Sis and her long-lost friend SN, who was in town from Florida.

Little Sis and I decided it was time to make a KH sandwich. A true professional, he never missed a beat. Ironically enough, he was singing "Hard to Handle"!!

CB and I got home WAY past our bedtime. We loved every minute of it!

How did you spend your weekend??

Spring In The Country

After a long, cold winter, topped off with a foot of snow in March, my yard has finally sprung to life. It always seems to happen overnight. It's as if I wake up one morning and realize that Spring has indeed arrived!

The warm evenings we've had over the past couple of weeks have lured me outside, camera in hand. I hope you enjoy the pictures I've taken of my little neck of the woods in springtime.


A storm brewing..

A rainbow...

An amazing sunrise...

A blazing sunset...

An eagle in flight...

A dogwood tree in the blinding sunlight...

Mountain Laurel along the driveway...

Why don't you come on over and sit a spell?

Bloggers Are People Too

There are times when I have total Blogger Blockage. I want to post something that won't put people to sleep, but there's just nothing there. This week, however, I have just the opposite problem...Blogger Baggage. There is WAY too much floating around in my pea brain mind, and I just can't decide what to post first. I'm going to take it a little bit at a time, and tell you about the awesome bloggy love I've been feeling over the past few days. You people are nothing short of amazing!



There's this cool chick named Keetha (click here) who resides in the beautiful state of Mississippi. Despite the fact that she is getting married this month, she took the time to send me some summer reading material. I will be posting a review on these books in the near future. Let me know if you are interested in reading them, and I will send them to you when I am finished. Just to clarify, I won't be passing the cookbook along....it lives with me now;)











Look closely at the author's name on this cookbook. KEETHA! More Culinary Kudzu is the second cookbook she has written. How COOL is that? While I was excited to receive the other two books, it was the cookbook that excited me the most! Not only is it filled with delicious recipes, but with stories about those recipes AND some cute family pictures as well. I read the entire book the day I received it! Go over and pay Keetha a visit. She'll make you feel right at home!

Many of you are already aware that a Blogger Shrimp Boil was held this past weekend. Noe Noe (click here) was our gracious host, and Marlene (click here) traveled quite a distance to join us in the middle of nowhere. Marlene has done a fabulous job of chronicling our get-together, so you'll just have to mosey on over to her place to get the whole story! Suffice it to say, a good time was had by ALL!!!

Shortly after Cool Breeze and I arrived at Noe's place, Marlene presented me with the most adorable mermaid picture...

I've decided that she is going to live above the window in my bedroom. I think I'll name her Marlene because I'm just THAT creative.

Finally, I wanted to tell you that Daryl (click here) has chosen me to participate in her Pay It Forward Party! YAY!! That post will be up in the next few weeks, so start making plans to PAY IT FORWARD!

There are far too many negative things impacting all of our lives right now. Isn't it refreshing to know that we can come here whenever we want and pretend the real world doesn't exist feel the love??

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing you all a fun-filled Mother's Day weekend!





Photo borrowed from MySpace

Don't work too hard....!

Stranger Than Fiction

Photo taken near my home earlier this week:

You can't make this stuff up!!!

Update: The rum cake was a HIT at the meeting last night! Of course, everyone had been drinking Sangria, but I like to think the cake really WAS fabulous!!! Thanks, Krissa!!!

Cinco de Mayo

I have a meeting tonight, and thought I'd make something festive to take along since I won't be able to go out for margaritas. I modified Krissa's Rum Cake recipe, using an orange cake mix, cheesecake jello pudding mix & Malibu rum. If it tastes good, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. If it's awful, you'll never hear about it again...

What are you doing to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

7

My BFF, Predo, has tagged me for a meme! I am supposed to tell you seven random things about moi, and then tag seven others. Well, you all know that I am not much of a tagger, so feel free to use this one if you need a cute post one day this week;)



Predo's instructions indicated that I was NOT allowed to mention anything about my beloved Aqua Net....because it's been done to death. ***GASP*** Soooooooo, I guess there's nothing more for me to write.....HAHAHAHA!!! Just kidding!



Seven Random Things About Me



1. I'm a morning person. And a summer person.

2. I often wish there were NO television sets in my home.

3. My hair is SO baby-fine, that I'm confident I will be bald by the age of 60.

4. I am still in awe of the number of friends that I have made through blogging. Each one of you has added something special to my life.

5. Most of the time I drive like an old lady. I don't go much over the speed limit because I'm terrified of getting a speeding ticket (Grandma J).

6. When I was very young, I wanted to be a model. Unfortunately, genetics determined that it was not meant to be. I got the short genes.... Probably saved me a lot of grief!

7. I enjoy cooking, and can be a bit of a food snob. Life is too short to eat bad food!



Any questions??